Ferrari boss Mattia Binotto says his drivers must “raise their concentration” after a second FIA warning for breaching Covid-19 protocols in a week.
Last weekend, Sebastian Vettel and Red Bull were warned after the German was photographed meeting with Christian Horner and Helmut Marko at their temporary paddock building in Spielberg without wearing masks.
Then, this week, though the regulations allow for drivers to return home between races, Charles Leclerc was seen on social media meeting with friends in Monaco, contravening the rule that says contact with people outside of a team ‘bubble’ must be kept to a minimum.
“I did come back home but, on the other hand, I’ve been tested twice before coming back, so in two days tested twice, both negative obviously, and that’s it,” Leclerc said on Thursday defending his decision.
Even so, Ferrari is now on thin ice with the FIA saying any further breaches will be referred to the stewards and could see penalties applied.
“The instructions are for Charles, Seb, the entire team we need to pay attention,” Binotto said via The Race on the matter. “We know how important it is to be here and to race for the entire circus.
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“Being distracted on the protocols is not great, we need to be strict. So, we need to raise our concentration, our attention.
“I think both drivers understood they did something wrong and I’m pretty sure they will pay more attention in the future.”
Mercedes’ Valtteri Bottas likewise returned to Monaco after last Sunday’s race but was cleared of any breaches of protocol after remaining only with his girlfriend and personal trainer.
“I wanted to find out if it was safe to go back, and it is. Obviously it doesn’t make any difference, if I stay in the same bubble, with the same people, if I’m here or back home in Monaco,” he commented.
“So, I decided to go back home as, in the end, we are in Europe and travelling it’s pretty short distances, so there’s no actual stress from travelling.
“I just wanted to spend those three full days at home and I thought it was very nice. I feel very much recharged for the weekend.
“I think it was a good decision for my side and I tend to only do things that work for me when it comes to deciding what I want to do when I have days off.
“From a safety point of view, there was no difference at all. I was still with the same people that I would have been dealing with here.”
On Saturday, the results of the latest round of coronavirus tests were released and once again showed no positive cases in the F1 paddock from the 4,566 that were done.
